Press Release
Powering People: new creative media campaign for the OU
“Powering People” is a bold new £2 million creative advertising and marketing campaign for The Open University, which began on Sunday 5 June 2005 with the broadcast of the first of a series of compelling television advertisements during prime time across the UK.
Announcing details of the comprehensive television, print and direct marketing campaign, The Open University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Brenda Gourley said it was the first significant, integrated external marketing initiative by the University since the unveiling of the revitalised OU visual brand in 2004.
Professor Gourley said the campaign was an important milestone in the ongoing rollout of the revised OU brand and identity. “It confidently positions us as a modern, dynamic, innovative and open institution, but it also has a serious underlying message about the value and importance of lifelong learning to both individuals and society,” said Professor Gourley.
“Growing competition in the higher and further education sectors, coupled with a more sophisticated marketplace, means the OU must raise its public profile. The campaign communicates powerfully the University’s vision and purpose, and articulates what the OU can offer prospective students. It is also an important and timely reminder of how essential lifelong learning is in the knowledge society,” said Professor Gourley.
“This campaign is unlike anything we have done in the past. It imaginatively communicates the University’s commitment to opening up learning opportunities to all, while at the same time reinforces our focus on quality, diversity and flexibility.”
“Its other objectives are to dispel some of those outdated myths about the OU that still persist, to present - in a bold and interesting way - the University’s leadership in flexible and supported distance learning, and to demonstrate how we genuinely help people achieve their goals.”
The initial phase of the campaign will run through June and July with a 30-second, 40-second, and five 10-second television commercials which both position the OU as well as encourage student enquiries. These will be run on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and also on satellite TV. The press campaign will run nationally, as well as in regional areas in the South and South-East, the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The advertisements will be supported by a direct marketing campaign.
‘Powering People’ will continue in the OU’s marketing collateral throughout the rest of 2005 and into 2006.
Created by FCBi London, the campaign demonstrates how learning is as necessary to people as heat and light. “The Open University is an engine of learning that’s capable of driving everyone, touching everyone’s lives. What other produce or service can move people in such a personal way. It’s raw, visceral stuff. A big claim needs a bit advertising idea – and that’s what we’ve got in ‘Powering people’,” said FCBi’s Executive Creative Director, Dan Douglass.
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